Bangladesh humiliate Afghanistan U-19s in 1st encounter

KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan Under-19 cricket team lost their first one-day international match to hosts Bangladesh by a huge 145-run margin on Thursday.

The Afghan team arrived in Bangladesh for a one-day series in the lead-up to the Asia Cup and World Cricket Cup championships.

Sent to bat first by the Afghans who won the toss, Bangladesh posted 222 runs for the loss of nine wickets as they played all the mandated 50 overs at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.

For Afghanistan, Mujeeb Zadran claimed four wickets while Tariq Stanikzai and Nisar Wahdat grabbed two scalps each. Afghanistan batting squad made a minor 77 runs before they were all out in the 35th over as Tariq Stankizai contributed 16 and Nisar Wahdat 10 runs.

Afghanistan lost the match with a big margin of 145 runs. Kazi Anik was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh as he took four wickets alone. He became man of the match.

Cricket analyst, Babrak Omar, expressed concern over the loss as a first-grade cricket country, saying the defeat with such a big difference was unacceptable.

He cited improper training to the players and giving U-19 players no chance to train and practice outside the country. He said choosing players against references for the squad was another reason behind the failure.

The two sides will meet for their second match of the five-match ODI series on Saturday.